Two-time Cy Young Award winner, 1968 AL MVP, and last 30-game winner in Major League Baseball Denny McLain has been many things in his life, but one thing he is unapologetic about is being outspoken. In a short seven minute conversation with him Sunday at Canal Park, Jim Piascik got the full experience of his brazen, honest look at the Stephen Strasburg shutdown, the Cleveland Indians' situation, and what he's loved about minor league parks across the nation.

In today’s Minor Happenings, Tony looks at the very strong season that High-A Carolina third baseman Giovanny Urshela has had and the jump he has made as a prospect. He also touches on the season that Carolina right-handed pitcher Jordan Cooper has had and what it may mean for his future, provides lots of comments from Ross Atkins on some of their rising young Latin American stars, and provides injury updates and more on players like Lars Anderson, Adam Abraham, Carlos Moncrief, Tyler Naquin, and others.t

Ugh oh. The Tribe is on another losing streak as they lost their fourth game in a row to the Athletics last night 8-4. That is now 13 of 14 games they have lost and an astounding 26 of 31 games. These are the kind of late season meltdowns that get people fired. Nonetheless, Adam McGavin watched the game last night and shares his thoughts on what transpired and more.

The organization began their final week of the season with some of the same ole', same ole' rolling out big games. Jose Ramirez had another ho-hum, three hit performance, and Jordan Smith had another two hits. A couple of starters stole the show though, each going 7 1/3 innings, and giving up a total of three earned runs. Who was it? Find out after the jump....

The Columbus Clippers aren't conceding anything when it comes to the playoffs. The Clippers remained alive in the IL wild-card race with a 4-2 victory Wednesday over the Bats at Louisville Slugger Field, using a pair of unlikely sources to spur the offense and a pitcher-by-committee approach to winning effect.

The days are getting shorter, the nights longer, the air crisper and cooler. You wouldn’t be wrong if you mistook it for football season. But before the men of autumn claim center stage for themselves, the boys of summer have a few finishing touches to put on their respective 2012 campaigns.

The Lake County Captains took the first of a three-game series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods with a 7-2 win on Wednesday, due to another long ball from Alex Lavisky and another solid relief effort from Nick Pasquale. Right-handed All-Star Cody Anderson (4-7, 3.30) took the bump for the Captains to counter Bowling Green lefty Ryan Carpenter (11-7, 4.13).

The Carolina Mudcats (29-33) took the second game of the series over the Potomac Nationals (30-33) 6-2 on Wednesday night. Will Roberts turned in a great outing for the Mudcats as he tossed seven and one third innings giving up only two runs on eight hits to lead the Cats to the win.

The AZL Indians ended their season with a thud as they played an uninspired game against the visiting Brewers and lost 8-1. The Indians got on the board in the first inning as shortstop Jairo Kelly drew a one out walk and then stole second for his third steal of the season. He later scored on a one our single to left by catcher Nelson Rodriguez.

The Mudcats were officially eliminated from playoff contention this past week, but that was all just a formality. Now, the only thing left to do is wait and see who's taking off for the greener pastures of Ohio, and Akron. There were few big weeks here in Carolina, but there WERE a few. Just not enough to make much difference. Let's get fishing...after the jump...

The Indians announced several roster moves on Wednesday afternoon with the waiver claim of lefty Scott Maine, the recall of righty Jeanmar Gomez to Cleveland, and the designation of outfielder Shelley Duncan.

In today's Q&A coaches session, Tony sits down and talks with High-A Carolina manager Edwin Rodriguez about several talented players currently on the roster and some that recently departed for Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. He discusses the incredible bounce back year that Tony Wolters and Ronny Rodriguez have had since their poor April starts, what adjustments Rodriguez has made at the plate, the improvements made by Jesus Aguilar, the amazing year for Carlos Moncrief and his prospect status, the strides made by Anthony Gallas and Danny Salazar, and more.

The AZL Indians have lost several of their top players to promotions the past week, but that did not look to be the case last night as they pounded the AZL Mariners 13-7 last night. They scored 11 combined runs in the sixth through eighth innings to come back and stun the Mariners.

The Indians lost their third straight last night as they were blanked again 7-0 by the Athletics. It is their 12th loss in their last 13 games, their 25th loss in their last 30 games, and they are now 11-33 since the All Star break. They have also scored three runs or less in nine straight games. The trends and numbers of late are not pretty, and William Biggar shares his thoughts on last night's game.

The Carolina Mudcats (29-34) fell to the Potomac Nationals (29-33) 4-1 in the opening game of the final home series. Michael Goodnight turned in a solid outing for the Mudcats tossing five innings while surrendering only one run.

With the minor league season rapidly drawing to a close, many players are attempting to close out the season on a high note. One such player would be Jesus Aguilar, whose performances continue to improve since being promoted to Double-A. Plus, Brett Brach has really been stellar as of late, and that remained the case on Tuesday. But could be possibly eventually be a Major League option? And what about this Dorssys Paulino character? Is he finally started to get a handle since his promotion to Mahoning Valley? All this and more as IPI's Steve Orbanek takes you Around the Farm.

Akron’s Brett Brach pitches seven shutout innings against Altoona and the Aeros scored two runs in the top of the ninth to take a 3-1 victory Tuesday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The Aeros (79-57) defeated the Curve (66-70) to lower the magic number for clinching the EL West crown to three with six games left to play.

A night after a rain-soaked Eastwood Field forced a delay of the last Scrapper home stand, a clear and breezy August evening provided the perfect backdrop for a double dip with the Doubledays. For the Scrapper faithful, it may have looked like a different team than the one that they saw hit the road a week ago.

olumbus saved the best for the last, plating two runs in the top of the ninth as they beat the Bats 2-0 in a tight pitcher's duel at Louisville Slugger Field. Early on, it was a pitcher's duel between Columbus' Eric Berger and Louisville's Todd Redmond.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!